This application has subject matter in common with the inventor's U.S. Pat. No. 7,318,653, which discloses built-in outlets and light means on a wall plate cover.
The current invention for USB charger related products may utilize the built-in liquid and display unit disclosed in the inventor's prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,926,440 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,909,477, for a liquid with medium-means, decorative-means, or miniature-means within a container for different light sources.
The current invention also has subject matter in common with the inventor's U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/870,253, which is directed to a wire arrangement for hand-reachable desktop USB charger related products, and which was filed on Apr. 22, 2013.
The current invention also has subject matter in common with the inventor's U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/863,073, which is directed to a power station or products having built-in USB & LED unit(s) for desk top installation, which was filed on Apr. 15, 2013.
The current invention also has subject matter in common with the inventor's U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/858,046, for a wire arrangement for a USB charger device which has an add-on or built-in wire arrange-means, and which was filed on Apr. 8, 2013.
The current invention also has subject matter in common with the inventor's U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/161,643, filed on May 27, 2011, and directed to a desk top LED device having a USB unit to charge other electric or digital data device(s).
The current invention also has subject matter in common with the inventor's U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/117,227 filed on May 27, 2011, which is directed to a universal module for a USB unit and/or outlet-unit for electric or digital data device(s).
The current invention is also has subject matter in common with the inventor's U.S. patent Ser. No. 12/950,017, which is directed to a multiple surface LED light having USB/Outlets/LED.
The above-cited patent applications disclose desktop hand-reachable USB-charger related products having wire-arrangements so that the wires for receiving-means including USB-ports, outlet receiving sockets, LED-units or any combinations thereof have wire arrangements that provide people with convenient hand-reachable chargers or power on a desk surface (including a desktop or other surface).
The present invention provides various improvement, including:    1. The USB and light means are installed within a multiple function cover plate, which will make the device thinner and more compact in size than a plug-in type overlay for an existing wall cover plate.    2. No built-in wire arrangement to coil, wrap, roll, store, or release AC power wires or other wires related to USB charger operation is needed, resulting in no more mess involving AC wires or other wires for charging kits such as the one disclosed in copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/858,046.    3. The basic model has a built-in USB port and light means selected from all kinds of market-available light means that not only can charge another electric or digital data device but also offer a light means. An LED light means including more than one LED, as disclosed in various prior patents and publication of the inventor, is preferred. The light means may also include or be associated with more than one optics means, more than one function, more than one reflective means, and and/or other features disclosed in the inventor's patents and patent application to cause the LED light means to have the best light performance.    4. The wall plate cover of the invention may be optionally made into a flat and big size, thin product to underlay all or at least one of the existing wall outlet receptacle(s) and optionally provide a built-in plurality of outlets to enable people to have more outlets and connect with more external electric or digital data devices.    5. The USB charger output-end power min. has 1.0 Amp up to N-Amp, which cannot be obtained from laptop USB ports or other portable or travel USB chargers. As a result, there is no need to wait a long time to charge electric or electronic devices so as to save people time to fully charge all electric or digital data device(s).    6. A wire arrangement by roller, retractable means, spring means, or twist means can be provided to allow people keep all charging-related wires or AC power wires well stored and not make a mess.
Finally, this application also has subject matter in common with the inventor's U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/954,189 filed Oct. 1, 2004 and now abandoned, which was directed to an electroluminescent wall cover plate.
The current invention provides improvements to the inventor's previously disclosed wall cover having built-in light source by adding receiving-means including any combination of a USB charger, AC power sources, and optional other electric devices.
A multiple function wall cover plate has been disclosed in several prior patents, including U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,714,725, 6,810,204, 6,832,794, and 6,839,506, but the prior multiple function wall cover plates have a relatively thick housing and are very dangerous to children because the chemical refill can easily be removed. The current invention uses a screw to securely lock all components and prevent children from touching chemical containing components. In addition, whereas the thicker body of the prior multiple function wall cover plates are too ugly because the multiple function components are added-on the existing wall cover plate, the current invention's concept is to replace the existing wall cover plate so that the thickness will be much less than that of the prior art. In particular, the current invention uses a conventional commercially available refill component which has the dimensions 6.5 cm (Length)×3.5 cm (Width)×0.8 cm (Height) and simply installs it on the back housing to reduce thickness and improve appearance.
The current invention may incorporate (1) an air freshener, (2) a nightlight, which may include an electroluminescent (E.L.) element, LED, incandescent light, fiber optics, a fluorescent light, or a black tube, and related circuitry for the light source, and (3) a receptacle arrangement (which may include any number of receptacles) to let the wall cover plate offer the best functions to consumers.
Other prior art includes U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,716,256; 6,657,380; 6,642,452; 6,413,598; 6,388,345; 6,342,995; 6,089,893; 6,086,211; 6,050,716; 5,934,451; 5,899,549; 5,842,763; 5,683,166; 5,670,776; 5,660,459; 5,637,930; 5,586,879; 5,544,025; 5,485,356; 5,407,721; 5,117,734; 4,924,349; 4,774,641; 4,755,913; 4,739,187; 4,617,613; 4,546,419; 4,514,789; 4,255,780; 4,240,090; 4,038,582; and 3,895,225, as well as the Inventor's prior U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,280,053; 6,171,117; 6,170,958; and 6,183,101. None of these prior art patents discloses a multiple function wall cover plate having a plurality of functions including (1) fragrance(s), (2) receptacle(s), and (3) nightlight(s) to easily replace the original wall outlet's cover plate and provide electricity delivery from the prong(s) of the multiple functions wall cover plate as in the current invention described below, and in particular, a multiple function wall cover plate having the shape and thickness of an existing wall outlet and a safety screw to prevent children from touching any parts of a refill, the nightlight, or the receptacle.